Once a year, the holiday celebrated by most couples and dreaded by every single comes around. With luscious roses, decadent chocolates, and a flying baby with an arrow in hand – Valentine’s Day marks the end of the cuffing season and the beginning of spring flings worldwide.

For many couples out there, this day marks a milestone in their relationship and a lot of people tend to go all out. A movie and dinner, a million rose petals, candles, giant teddy bears, and many more grand gestures of love to truly show their loved one how they feel. What about the millions, yes MILLIONS, of people in the world who get to spend this holiday without a significant other by their side? Well, most of them tend to loathe the holiday and just don’t celebrate it at all. However, Valentine’s Day can actually be the best holiday for singles.

Valentine’s Day, like most holidays, is primarily just a gateway for businesses to maximize their profit every year. According to Business Insider, in 2019 Americans were expected to spend $20.1 billion on Valentine’s Day. Thankfully, if you’re a single Pringle you get to save all your money, or at least save some for all the sales that occur on Feb. 15. Luckily, this day full of discounted Valentine’s chocolates is actually known as Single Awareness Day. So, if you’re single and don’t feel appreciated 24 hours prior, then this day is just for you.

Now celebrating with the hashtag “#SINGLESAWARENESSDAY” can be kind of demeaning but celebrating early on the 14 of February seems like a better idea. Even if you are lacking that lovely counterpart you desire, you can make up for it by cherishing your other loved ones like family, friends and even your dog on the day of love. Buy your mom flowers, give your dad a card, and even though you may be a mature adult by this point you can still tell your sibling you love them even if it still pains you.

This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday which means you can go out with your friends, convince that one friend in a relationship to ditch her boyfriend for the day, and watch “The Notebook” with the boys because men cry too.

If you’re spending the day alone with your furry friend, then show them how much you care and take that fur ball to get a puppuccino from Starbucks or some catnip from your local pet store. Everybody, pets included, deserve, love and just a little extra on Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day as a single person is the prime time to go out and have as much fun as possible because you don’t have a relationship holding you back. Granted, relationships are great and according to MarketWatch.com people in relationships tend to be happier than those who are single.

However, being single, especially in college, allows for a world full of possibilities that end with you getting to know and love yourself. Spending so much time with yourself and going through the motions of life is where you truly get to know who you are and what you want out of life. This is your chance to find out what you like, don’t like, and if you could really be with somebody who’s allergic to a dog.

All jokes aside, Valentine’s Day is seen by many singles as possibly one of the worst holidays to exist, but it’s actually unknowingly one of the best. Yes, shelves lined with stuffed animals and chocolates can be a bit excessive, but you can gain so much more from celebrating alone than with a significant other.

A day to treat your family, friends, and most importantly yourself is something you can’t get from most holidays. Getting to show them just how much you love them on a day dedicated to love will mean more than you could realize.

Instead of looking at Valentine’s Day as an awful excuse to sit alone and do nothing, share that tub of cookies and cream ice cream with your best friend, hug your parents a little tighter, and overall just make it a day you’ll cherish a little more than hate.